Wow! Thanks to everyone who dived into our Student Scratch competition – we received hundreds of fantastic entries. The theme was ‘Clean Our Ocean’. We provided the template and the challenge was for students to add their own unique code to program the diver character to save the fish by collecting the rubbish.

There were three categories. The winners each receive a Kaiser Bass Alpha Drone Quadcopter for their classroom.

Our congratulations to:

• Beginner: Years 3 to 5 – Annabelle Waters, Hillcrest Normal School, Hamilton
• Intermediate: Years 6 and 7 – Caleb Cole-Baker, Whenuapai School, Auckland
• Advanced: Years 8 to 10 – Rebecca Evans, Marist College, Auckland

A huge congratulations to our three Scratch competition winners – your entries were awesome. Check them out.

Annabelle Waters, ‘Clean Our Ocean’

Link: scratch.mit.edu/projects/161667720/

Judge’s comment: “Game play was simple but was nice to see the diver drifting backwards when facing different directions as the current changed. Good use of changing background as you reached a high score.”

Caleb Cole-Baker, ‘Save The Sea’

Link: scratch.mit.edu/projects/158208719/

Judge’s comment: “Really liked the thought that went into this game. From the different materials that drift within the ocean, to the oxygen supply of the diver depleting. There are a good level of challenges along the way and obstacles to avoid, I like it when they diver got zapped.”

Rebecca Evan, ‘Save Our Ocean’

Link: scratch.mit.edu/projects/155111268/

Judge’s comment: “I liked the splash screen and how I had the option to see instructions or just play the game. The gameplay is very simple to follow, I like how the fish would swim up to the surface making the challenge harder as the rubbish drifts down from the top.”

Our recent Scratch competition was one of our most successful ever. Sorry it took so long to announce the results … there were just so many great entries! We really appreciate all the hard work students (and teachers) put in. There were some fantastic games – everyone who entered should be very proud. Please don’t give up. Keep coding and give it a go again next year.

Lastly, thanks to the Mind Lab for partnering with us on the competition, especially Damon Kahi for his judging prowess.